376 TALKS ON " AT THE FEET OF THE MASTER "
The basis of that was quite a good idea, the idea of
setting aside one day in the week especially to be
devoted to the service of the Deity, to be more sacred
than the others. That was not a bad idea, but it has
now degenerated into a ridiculous attitude, where the
object for which it was set aside has been forgotten,
and all that remains is the idea that no ordinary
work should be done on that day, that being obviously
a rule made to secure the comfort of those who
might otherwise be compelled by their masters to go
through their ordinary work just the same as on
every other day. The idea was evidently to minimise
that danger, and make the day one that could be
devoted to spiritual things. But the Divine service
aspect has dropped very much into the background.
There is more drunkenness and general looseness, in
various ways, on Sunday than on other days.
There you have a case where the non-essential
part of the thing has become the essential, and so the
spirit of the thing has been very largely lost. It is
the same with many other institutions; the same
perhaps with the idea of Christmas. At Christmas
and Easter, for example, people hold a festival
because of certain great religious events, the birth of
the Christ and His Ascension ; but many people
now entirely forget these, yet still keep up the
festival.
Then you have another definition of superstition,
which again is a good one, but, also again, does not